BMW Sales Drop In U.S., Rise In Canada

[JoshCalkins]

The auto market and the economy haven't been looking all that great lately, and recent BMW sales numbers show that the German automaker is definitely not immune to the slump. Total BMW sales for the month of March declined 22.9 percent in the United States over last year, for a total year-to-date decrease of 25.2 percent over 2008. The Mini brand was the strongest in the BMW stable, dropping only 15.9%. In Canada, though, the story was drastically different.

BMW Group Canada, which is based in Ontario, released a statement saying that sales of BMW cars were up 8%, Mini was up 4%, BMW Motorrad had a record breaking year with year-to-date motorcycle sales up 138% from last year, and sales of both BMW and Mini Pre-Owned vehicles set month of March records.

It is worth noting, however, that BMW Group Canada sales experienced a sharp and unexpected drop in March of 2008, with a 25.4% decrease over March of 2007, so that skews the percentage increases for sales of new BMWs this past month, as over a two-year period, they have experience a net decrease. The Pre-Owned sales, however, were their highest ever.